Who's here??? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> :love:
Whew!! I left for work yesterday (Thurs) morning and just walked back in the door at home (Fri afternoon). While scanning a patient yesterday, the power went down. We had to send all the patients home, some who had already undergone half of their test. I live about an hour from work, and the traffic outside was horrible, so I immediately walked down the street, bought a soda and some snacks at the corner gas station, and checked into a hotel, which then promptly filled up (glad I didn't wait!). I brought my "survival bag" from my SUV with me, and it has all the necessities, including a battery operated radio. After checking in, all the guests sat outside at the bar where it was cooler. I turned on the radio and instantly became the "news" woman, hee hee.
It was so interesting to see everyone's reactions to the situation. Some people were in major panic mode, I think because we still didn't know the cause of the blackout. Since the stoplights were out, regular people (not cops) were directing traffic! Around 11pm the hotel's generator started losing power so the staff lit candles and placed them all over the main lobby. I had a flashlight, so I was able to go up to my room without a "guide", LOL. Of course, there were no elevators, and my room was on the top floor, so I got to see how really out of shape I am, eek.
After dropping off my gear, I went back downstairs (a glutton for punishment, that's me!) because I wanted to see the stars. I wasn't the only one. A bunch of us stood outside marvelling at the clearness of the sky without all the light pollution. Since Mars is closer now than it will be for another 200 years, I was glad I got to see it. Back up the stairs and I fell right to sleep. Around 3:30am, the power came on, waking me up since I had left a light switch on just for that reason. I set the clocks in the room and the alarm. At 7am, I walked back to work and had to recalibrate all the equipment. However, most of the buildings around us were still losing power on and off, so the office manager decided to stay open only until 1pm. Yay!
I think that, once everyone knew it wasn't caused by a terrorist attack, most people pretty much took a relaxed attitude towards the blackout. I'm glad I didn't decide to drive home last night. Some people claimed it took them over 4 hours to get home, and they live closer to work than I do. Much better to sit at the bar, listen to the radio, and watch the stars, don't you think?
Marian